Waterfalls and Fall Colours
Length: ½ day to Full Day
Distance: Approximately 120 kilometres (75 miles).
View Waterfalls & Fall Colour - Fall Leaves Tour - Grey County, Ontario, Canada in a larger map
If unspoiled Georgian Bay scenic vistas and Ontario waterfalls dressed in autumn colours are your pet photograph project then this is the fall color tour for you.
Located only two hours from Toronto, Kitchener and London, visit Grey County and Owen Sound Ontario for a spectacular fall foliage drive this weekend.
Start your weekend getaway with a stop at the visitor centre at Grey Roots Museum & Archives on Grey Road 18, just north of Owen Sound. Here you will find maps and other tourist information that will help guide you on your fall colour adventure. Spend some time and enjoying the heritage exhibits complete with Moreston Heritage Village complete with a blacksmith shop, log cabin, barn and garage.
Your next stop is beautiful Inglis Falls, one of several falls in the area. Located on Inglis Falls Road, this conservation area is a well known scenic vista with panoramic views of fall foliage, rock, water and rural landscapes. Like many falls in one, here the Sydenham River cascades over limestone shelves as it makes an 18 metre drop to the valley floor below.
Make your way to downtown Owen Sound, where you’ll find the Owen Sound Marine & Rail Museum located in an former CN Railway station on the scenic city’s harbour.
Making your way out of the city, follow Grey Road 1 north, along Georgian Bay to Indian Falls. Hike the colourful hardwood trail, following the Indian River to this scenic horseshoe shaped veil falls. Located within a conservation area, there are also public washrooms for your use.
The next stop as you head north – Cobble Beach. If golf is your game, be sure to bring your clubs. This course offers unparalleled scenic vistas of Georgian Bay and the surrounding landscape. A great place to grab a bite or stop for the night; the Inn at Cobble Beach and the Sweetwater Restaurant also offer magnificent views.
Carrying on along Grey Road 1, you will find the Kemble Women’s Institute Lookout at the corner of the former Grey Road 26 or Island View Drive. A whimsical place with a tea party with a view, this corner is a great stop for a photo op.
Carrying along the scenic route toward Wiarton, you’ll soon find Keppel Croft Garden, Centennial Park and the Colpoy’s Bay Lookout. The Big Bay General Store (at the main intersection in Big Bay) features home-made ice cream in a multitude of enticing flavours. Pumpkin Pie ice cream is often a favourite at this time of year.
Bruce’s Caves Conservation Area is your next stop along the tour. Here 240 acres of hardwood forest provide a blaze of colour unsurpassed anywhere, with the caves amongst them, carved out of the Niagara Escarpment by years of prehistoric wave action.
A left turn in Oxenden will bring you to Gleason Brook Pottery, and a short drive further along back roads will take you to Skinner’s Bluff where a short hike will reward you with a spectacular fall colour view over Georgian Bay.
Retracing your steps to Grey Road 1 or Island View Drive, turn left and make your way in to Wiarton. A left will place you on highway 6, for your return to Owen Sound through Hepworth. As you approach Springmount, you’ll find the Jones Falls located in the Pottawatomi Conservation Area on your left. Park and take a short walk to the falls roaring once again over the escarpment.
A short drive on the Owen Sound bypass will take you back to where you started at Grey Roots, where your Grey County fall olour getaway will come to an end.
